This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/21/nigel-farage-brexit-party-does-not-accept-foreign-currency
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Nigel Farage denies Brexit party has accepted foreign donations | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Nigel Farage has insisted that his Brexit party does not accept donations in foreign currency as the Electoral Commission prepares to visit its offices as part of a funding review. | Nigel Farage has insisted that his Brexit party does not accept donations in foreign currency as the Electoral Commission prepares to visit its offices as part of a funding review. |
| The commission announced it was looking into the Brexit party’s donations after Gordon Brown urged it to investigate concerns over the legality of its funding. | The commission announced it was looking into the Brexit party’s donations after Gordon Brown urged it to investigate concerns over the legality of its funding. |
| Brown said there were clear risks that democracy was being damaged if the Brexit party was allowed to accept foreign and untraceable donations via PayPal. Political gifts of under £500, whether made via the online payments service or another route, do not have to be declared. | Brown said there were clear risks that democracy was being damaged if the Brexit party was allowed to accept foreign and untraceable donations via PayPal. Political gifts of under £500, whether made via the online payments service or another route, do not have to be declared. |
| Speaking to LBC on Tuesday, Farage said the review showed that the establishment was “rotten to the core”. | Speaking to LBC on Tuesday, Farage said the review showed that the establishment was “rotten to the core”. |
| He added: “We don’t take foreign currency, end of that conversation.” | He added: “We don’t take foreign currency, end of that conversation.” |
| His comments about foreign currency do not directly address concerns about foreign donations. In a report last year on digital campaigning, the commission recommended tighter controls to ensure money from foreign donors is not used in UK elections and referendum campaigns. | His comments about foreign currency do not directly address concerns about foreign donations. In a report last year on digital campaigning, the commission recommended tighter controls to ensure money from foreign donors is not used in UK elections and referendum campaigns. |
| Farage insisted the Brexit party was largely funded by people donating £25 each to become registered supporters. | Farage insisted the Brexit party was largely funded by people donating £25 each to become registered supporters. |
| He said: “We’ve got a different model; we don’t have a traditional members model. We are doing it differently. As for this accusation that there is something going wrong, I was in a room last night up in Bolton and I said: ‘Hands up how many of you are registered supporters of the Brexit party?’ and of the thousand or so people in the room, 90% of them put their hand up.” | He said: “We’ve got a different model; we don’t have a traditional members model. We are doing it differently. As for this accusation that there is something going wrong, I was in a room last night up in Bolton and I said: ‘Hands up how many of you are registered supporters of the Brexit party?’ and of the thousand or so people in the room, 90% of them put their hand up.” |
| He said Brown’s concerns were generated by envy of the party’s popularity in the opinion polls. “That’s where are money’s coming from and they cannot cope with our success,” Farage said. | He said Brown’s concerns were generated by envy of the party’s popularity in the opinion polls. “That’s where are money’s coming from and they cannot cope with our success,” Farage said. |
| On the commission’s review, he said: “We went to visit them last week. They said we had all the right procedures in place. We asked them for a letter to confirm that. They failed to give it. | On the commission’s review, he said: “We went to visit them last week. They said we had all the right procedures in place. We asked them for a letter to confirm that. They failed to give it. |
| “Now, in an act of bad faith, clearly politically motivated, despite the fact we had invited them to our offices, last week they were too busy to see us; this week, 48 hours before a national election, they are coming into our office. | “Now, in an act of bad faith, clearly politically motivated, despite the fact we had invited them to our offices, last week they were too busy to see us; this week, 48 hours before a national election, they are coming into our office. |
| “Not that they will find anything wrong. I’ve got a team of four accountants working on this. I’m not stupid. | “Not that they will find anything wrong. I’ve got a team of four accountants working on this. I’m not stupid. |
| “Once again it shows the establishment in this country is rotten to the core and we need to change politics for good.” | “Once again it shows the establishment in this country is rotten to the core and we need to change politics for good.” |
| Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the media attention on Farage being doused in milkshake had diverted attention from the commission’s review into his party’s funding. | Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the media attention on Farage being doused in milkshake had diverted attention from the commission’s review into his party’s funding. |
| Speaking to ITV Good Morning Britain, she said: “Whatever you think of Nigel Farage, and I’m not a great fan, I don’t think we should be condoning or encouraging people to behave in that way. Not least because it took the attention away from a big story yesterday about where the Brexit party gets its money from.” | Speaking to ITV Good Morning Britain, she said: “Whatever you think of Nigel Farage, and I’m not a great fan, I don’t think we should be condoning or encouraging people to behave in that way. Not least because it took the attention away from a big story yesterday about where the Brexit party gets its money from.” |
| On Monday, an Electoral Commission spokeswoman said: “The Brexit party, like all registered political parties, has to comply with laws that require any donation it accepts of over £500 to be from a permissible source. It is also subject to rules for reporting donations, loans, campaign spending and end-of-year accounts. We have already been talking to the party about these issues. | On Monday, an Electoral Commission spokeswoman said: “The Brexit party, like all registered political parties, has to comply with laws that require any donation it accepts of over £500 to be from a permissible source. It is also subject to rules for reporting donations, loans, campaign spending and end-of-year accounts. We have already been talking to the party about these issues. |
| “As part of our active oversight and regulation of these rules, we are attending the Brexit party’s office tomorrow to conduct a review of the systems it has in place to receive funds, including donations over £500 that have to be from the UK only. If there’s evidence that the law may have been broken, we will consider that in line with our enforcement policy.” | “As part of our active oversight and regulation of these rules, we are attending the Brexit party’s office tomorrow to conduct a review of the systems it has in place to receive funds, including donations over £500 that have to be from the UK only. If there’s evidence that the law may have been broken, we will consider that in line with our enforcement policy.” |
| Under the political funding rules, political parties do not have to declare donations of £500 or less. But the commission pointed out that is an offence to try to evade controls on donations by making a series of small donations. | Under the political funding rules, political parties do not have to declare donations of £500 or less. But the commission pointed out that is an offence to try to evade controls on donations by making a series of small donations. |
| Nigel Farage | Nigel Farage |
| Brexit party | Brexit party |
| Party funding | Party funding |
| European parliamentary elections 2019 | European parliamentary elections 2019 |
| European elections | European elections |
| news | news |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |